Dossier articles from the past 3 months
Unlike the protests of the ‘Arab Spring’, moreover, the recent protests in Iran have a political connection. President Rohani publicly declared they had valid reason to protest and the right to do so. The revolts began in Mashhad, a spiritual centre noted for its sympathies with the conservatives – as well as the shrine of…
Read moreWhatever tensions exist between Israel, the USA and Iran, they will play out in Syria first. The strategy will focus on preventing Iran from deploying of missiles in Syria and Lebanon, aimed against Israel. In effect, Israel will consider any provocation, real or fabricated arising from Syria as being directed from Tehran. In turn, Tel…
Read moreIran does have a domestic and clandestine opposition, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK). The MEK combine Communist and Islamist ideas and they started challenging the Islamic Republic since its early days. They set off a bomb in the Iranian Parliament in 1981, killing at least 70 people. Iraq exploited their services to target the Regime in…
Read moreNobody appears to have any clear plans for Syria. Indeed, the ignorance extends to the entirety of the Middle East. But, it’s clear that the reason why U.S. troops remain in Syria is Iran. The Americans have tried to justify their considerable effort to shape events in the Region since the end of World War…
Read moreIn the course of his pontificate, Pope Francis has not ceased to fight against the walls of the world, the result of fear, aggression and selfishness, pointing the finger at those ‘visible and invisible walls’ that break the world into incoherent pieces, a world which, paradoxically, is increasingly globalised. From the so-called Israeli security barrier…
Read moreTwenty nine years have passed since the most famous wall in Europe ceased to divide the German capital in two. It was 1989 and the imminent entry into the nineties seemed to be the dawn of a new world; the fall of the wall had indeed decreed the unification of Germany together with the crush…
Read moreWalls are like an infection, made of bricks, nets and barbed wire that prevent the wound of neighbouring peoples from healing. Wounds that separate groups of people or persons would need connecting bridges based upon dialogue and knowing each other. Nevertheless, the train of barriers breaking up the world, renewing and making visible the fear…
Read moreThe year 2016 was the year of anti-immigration walls, the militarisation of frontiers and a record year for deaths in the Mediterranean, sad phenomena closely affecting Europe. The famous ‘Balkan route’ bringing migrants from the Middle East to Europe was broken up by a series of barriers to stem the flow of migrants: first among…
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The big winner in the Middle East is Russia. Thus, it will be Russia that will play the biggest role in its post-Islamic State organization. It was Russia that turned Turkey into an ally even after the latter’s air force shot down a Russian Sukhoi-24 jet in November 2015. Then in 2017, Russian backed Syrian…
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The West will always choose Turkey over the aspirations of the Kurds. This is one area where The Americans and the Russians agree, allowing Rojava to separate from Syria. Russia has no desire to compromise relations with Turkey even as it tries to capitalize on success in Syria to strengthen its military presence. The Americans…
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The Kurds have become one of the key players of the Middle East. They have secured autonomy alliances with superpowers and attracted investors to their resource rich region. But, the chances of full independence range from zero to few for the time being. The Syrian government appears to have survived the conflict that was more…
Read moreThe Kurds and their struggle have suffered because of geographical and cultural fragmentation first and, later, their political and cultural disparities. The Kurds have become all too aware that the international community remains hostile to their independence project. It would take nothing short of a total reversal of the borders inherited from the colonial order…
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When asked how a farmer’s daughter who became a Catholic nun ended up as one of Brazil’s most influential refugee advocates, Sister Rosita Milesi, 79,…
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Vusi was an honest man and a hard worker. He had cleared a large piece of moorland and turned it into a beautiful fertile field. He…
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On 24 November, the Solemnity of Christ the King, on the occasion of World Youth Day in the Particular Churches, in St. Peter's Basilica the traditional…
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